Fab, right? It took you about two seconds to look at that photo. It took me a few seconds as well, but when I begin taking blog-worthy notes of my painting process it was week two of striping my bathroom walls.

Week two and all I had to show for it is four primed walls and a few measly strips of masking tape.

Here’s the thing; my (rented) house is going on 35 years old, and this tiny room has seen more than a few layers of paint, patches, and more paint. I didn’t scrape any old paint off, but I went more than a few rounds of trying to even out the walls with spackle and sand paper.

Then came the necessary priming; it kept the paint from soaking into the sponge-like spackle, and prepared the dingy manila yellow walls to accept the bright new paint. I… err… forgot to take photos of the previous color. Trust me; it was grody.

Originally I wanted to stripe all four walls, but nixed that idea pretty quickly. The walls are so janky I don’t think I’d ever be able to line up the stripes at each corner. Instead, I painted the two larger walls white and marked the stripes on the two small walls. All that took another week, most of which was spent measuring out the stripes.

We are, sadly, not pirates so “X” does not mark the spot. That is, the stripes with Xs are to be painted gray.

By week four, I had two white walls and two walls with white stripes all requiring touch ups. I do not recommend you paint an entire wall in a solid color intending to add the stripes later. The second color will not stick to the painted surface so you’ll end up having to re-prime. That in mind, I re-taped the walls and painted the alternating stripes gray.

Then the fun really began. When I removed the tape white paint came with it! Argh!

Once I’d thrown a temper tantrum I opened a fresh can of white paint to do the touch ups. When it dried it was very evident that something was amiss.

In case your monitor hides the horror, allow me to adjust the contrast of my photo for you.

The cans of white paint, purchased from the same home improvement store, labeled identically, and untinted ARE TWO DIFFERENT SHADES OF WHITE.

This means another touch up layer of paint. Except, I got bronchitis. That turned into pneumonia. I was all but dead for ten days. I know, I know: excuses…

I have, however, managed to (mostly) finish my striped walls.

I took this photo from just outside the powder room door. From that distance it looks pretty good. Unfortunately, one cannot exactly use the toilet from a distance.

Once inside all the bleeding lines and, of course, the multiple whites are disturbingly evident. Week eight: still not finished.

After eight weeks, I really had hoped to show you guys my brilliant “new” powder room. You know, the one inspired by looking at pin for two seconds. Alas, life got in the way a bit. Still, I call this pin plausible, even for less practiced painters. I’ve assembled a few tips to help you past a few roadblocks.

High gloss paints fare well in bathrooms because they’re easy to clean, but they also show every little imperfection in the wall. Every. Single. One.

Wipe your (dry) walls with a damp cloth each time you paint. Your walls may look clean, but once you paint that hair you didn’t see will be forever glued to the wall and you’ll see it each time you enter the room.

When taping off your stripes use shorter lengths of tape. They are so much easier to work with.

Paint away from the tape to avoid pooling paint (i.e. raised paint lines between the two chosen shades.)

What do you say, darling readers? Plausible for first-timers or a pros-only project?

P.S. Isn’t Alicia a doll for inviting me back? Thank you, dear!

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About the guest poster:

I’m just a girl with glitter in my veins, a song in my heart, and hot shoes on my mind. When I grow up I want to be just like Mr. Floyd, the crossing guard at my daughter’s school – always smiling, often biking, and loved by so very many. Sometimes I remember to blog about life, but sometimes I’m too busy living. Catch me when you can at Never a Plain Jane.